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The Immigrant Labour Behind Britain’s Successes: Reflecting on International Worker’s Day

The struggle for workers' rights has deep international roots, but it is a story that continues to shape Britain’s past and present.

In May of 1886, workers, many of whom Irish, German and Central and Eastern European, gathered in Chicago to campaign for an 8 hour work day. Though the events that followed would become known as the Haymarket Affair, marked by violence, arrests, and backlash, the movement’s immediate goals were thwarted. Yet the spirit of the protest endured. In the years that followed, May 1st was adopted globally as a day for workers to protest, reflect, and unite in solidarity; a lasting legacy of the struggle that began in Chicago.

Today, May Day, also called International Workers’ Day, is woven into Britain’s calendar as a time to celebrate the victories and sacrifices of working-class movements. In honouring these struggles though, it’s essential to remember the often overlooked hands that built modern Britain: the immigrant and racialised workers whose labour laid the foundations of the services and industries we now depend on.

The NHS – A Testament to the Windrush Generation

When was the last time you or someone you know spoke to a doctor, picked up a prescription, had a baby, needed surgery, or simply wanted medical advice?

Before the National Health Service was established in 1948, all of the above would’ve come with a price tag. The UK’s NHS has become renowned across the world as one of the world’s first universal healthcare systems, offering free healthcare to everyone regardless of income or social status. Today, the NHS is the biggest employer in the UK with 1.5 million employees, and it services approximately 1.7 million people per day.

However, this fundamental ‘British’ organisation wouldn’t have been nearly as successful in its initial formation if it hadn’t utilised recruitment programmes that encouraged Commonwealth residents – mostly from the Caribbean – to migrate to the UK and fulfil the demand that the new NHS had created for health workers.

In June 1948, a few months before the NHS began its work, the HMT Empire Windrush arrived in London from the Caribbean with 802 migrants, and the following decade saw African-Caribbean migration increase consistently. By 1965 it was estimated there were 5,000 Jamaican nurses working in hospitals across the UK – largely in industrial and impoverished areas.

Today, Black, African, Caribbean, and Black British individuals continue to make up a significant proportion of the NHS workforce, largely in administrative, domestic, and supporting roles that form the backbone of the NHS as we know it.

All Quiet on the Eastern Front – The Chinese Labour Corps during World War 1

Britain, France, Russia, and the US are historically the heroes of the Western Front, winning the war and preventing German political dominance in Europe, however a perpetually forgotten contribution is that of the 140,000 Chinese workers who provided manual labour to the Allies across Europe.

Tens of thousands of labourers volunteered to undertake the 3-month journey from China to France, and were placed in a myriad of roles from working in munitions factories and dockyards, to digging trenches and transporting soldiers. Due to China’s initial neutrality to the war, the Allies recruited Chinese workers on the basis that they would be exclusively placed in non-combatant roles, and for the most part this was upheld, however the front-line’s proximity to conflict was dangerous for everyone, even those in roles that weren’t directly fighting. Many in the Chinese Labour Corps also fell ill from disease and poor living conditions.

When the war ended, the majority of Chinese Labour Corps members were transported back to China. Only 3,000 managed to establish roots in France, and while there’s no recorded number for those who may have stayed in Britain, racist attitudes across the UK largely prevented those in the Corps from settling despite their sacrifices and contributions to the war effort.

Rail, Water and Motorways – Irish Navvies and British Infrastructure

As Britain’s Industrial Era picked up pace during the 1700s, the demand for faster, cheaper transport sparked a series of construction booms across the country.

This era of growth coincided with a period of severe economic hardship in Ireland, as well as three devastating famines in a single century. This forced thousands of Irish migrants to seek work in Britain, many becoming the backbone of infrastructure projects. Known as ‘Navvies’ ( “Navigationals”), Irish workers played a crucial role in building Britain’s canals, railways, and later, motorways.

Following the financial successes of The Sankey Canal in St Helens and the Bridgewater Canal in Manchester, the ‘canal mania’ of the second half of the 18th century saw 4,000 miles of waterways built in Britain, creating the world’s first national network of canals. It’s estimated that 30% of this workforce were Irish, and Manchester in particular relied heavily on Irish migrants for the 6-years construction of the Manchester Ship Canal.

By the 1800s, rail began to replace canals as the preferred method of industrial transport, and once again Irish workers were at the forefront. Many of Britain’s operating canals were drained and converted into railway routes, and by 1850 3,000 miles of railway lines spread across the British Isles.

As the 20th century rolled around, transport preferences changed but the Irish remained. As cars became more accessible and affordable, there was a need for Britain to connect its major cities with sufficient road structures. The M1 was the first long-distance motorway built in Britain, running 193 miles from London to Leeds, and its construction relied on the efforts of Irish migrants and the descendants of the navvies that had settled in Britain centuries earlier. Today, the M1 is still one of the busiest roads in Britain, with 135,000 vehicles travelling on it per day.

The Indian Ayahs who Raised Britain’s Children 

From the 17th century, Britain and India’s relationship was driven by economic ambition and imperial expansion. The East India Company and their trade relations across South Asia meant that countless Britons found financial prosperity abroad, benefitting largely from a much lower cost of living compared to Britain.

For the Indian population, however, this prosperity was rarely shared, and jobs created by the empire overwhelmingly placed Indians in roles of physical and domestic servitude. One of the most notable, yet often forgotten, roles was that of the Ayah.

Ayahs were Indian nannies who raised generations of British children, and they became primary caregivers for colonial families. Although some Ayahs became valued members of the family they served, many were mistreated and even the best were valued at an eighth of the wage of a British servant performing the same role. For this reason, many British families brought their Indian servants with them when they returned home.

For some women, this represented a chance for adventure; for others, it led to abandonment. Without legal contracts, secure return tickets, or formal protections, it was common for Ayahs to be discharged and left to fend for themselves on unfamiliar British streets where many faced homelessness, exploitation, or destitution.

In the late 19th century, over a century into Britain’s colonisation of India, a charitable home in London was set up to provide support for abandoned Ayahs, and an estimated 200 women a year made use of its accommodation while they saved for a ticket home or searched for jobs in Britain.

Unfortunately, there’s strikingly little information about what happened to the majority of Ayahs that were left in Britain, as the majority were without documentation. Despite this, their contributions to Britain’s economic and social growth is undeniable. By managing domestic life, Ayahs freed wealthy colonial families to pursue business ventures, leisure, and societal advancement both in Britain and abroad, embedding Indian women’s invisible labour deep within the fabric of Britain’s Industrial Era.

Jewish Working Class Radicalism in Britain

Between 1881 and 1914, around 150,000 Jews migrated to Britain from Eastern Europe, many settling in London, particularly the East End. Fleeing poverty and persecution, they brought with them skills in trades like cabinet making and carpentry. By 1901, it’s estimated that 5–10% of the Jewish population in Britain worked in the furniture industry, typically in small workshops employing just a handful of men. Life was often harsh and overcrowded, with families living in poor conditions while trying to make ends meet.

David Bloom, born in 1913 in Tottenham to Russian Jewish parents, grew up in such an environment. His father was a cabinet-maker, struggling to support a large family in poverty. From an early age, David became aware of the sharp divide between rich and poor. Influenced by political thinkers and speakers like Harry Pollitt, he joined the Communist Party in 1935. David became active in the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement, anti-fascist campaigns, and later the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He was part of the vibrant Bethnal Green branch of the Communist Party of Great Britain, known for its public meetings and debates — reflecting a broader tradition of political engagement and activism within parts of the Jewish community in East London. The library has a recorded interview with David in our collection, which tells the story of his life and activism.

 

International Workers’ Day is not just a day to celebrate victories won and to look to the future of worker solidarity, but also to acknowledge the sacrifices still too often forgotten in our past. Britain’s hospitals, transport networks, homes, and high streets were not built alone, they were shaped by the hard work, resilience, and dreams of immigrant workers from across the world.

Recognising these hidden histories isn’t an act of charity; it’s an act of justice. As we look to build a more equitable future, one that truly values labour in all its forms, we should remember the hands that have always been helping to build Britain.

Steph Harding

If you’re interested in learning more about the racialised working class in Britain, The Working Class Movement Library will be welcoming Taj Ali as this year’s speaker for the Frow Memorial Lecture at 2pm on the 10th of May.

In his talk, “The Making of the British South Asian Working Class,” Taj will explore the struggles of South Asian communities in the UK, highlighting their fight against racial injustice and their ongoing efforts for improved working conditions.